DURBAN - The long-awaited eThekwini ANC regional elective conference has been postponed indefinitely.
It was scheduled for three days, from Friday until Sunday. The ANC regional task team co-ordinator Bheki Ntuli told the Daily News that the ANC’s head office failed to submit branch audit results by Tuesday.
Ntuli said they are expecting the results by the end of the week and have postponed the conference, possibly to next week. The party had provisionally secured two venues, Moses Mabhida Stadium and Durban’s International Convention Centre, but fortunately, the party had not signed any agreement.
Ntuli said branches had reached the required 70% threshold three weeks ago, but the national leadership felt the branches that did not qualify should be given another chance since it was discovered that it was not their fault, but there were hiccups in the head office. Out of 111 branches in the region, the party needed 78 to form a quorum so that the region could go to the conference.
Ntuli is on Thabani Nyawose’s slate as secretary, a position he held under Zandile Gumede while she was chairperson before the structure was disbanded by the provincial leadership.
Nyawose and Gumede are vying to be chairperson in eThekwini. A win for Nyawose is expected to boost President Cyril Ramaphosa’s chances of returning to his position as ANC president at the national conference, while a win for Gumede would strengthen the Radical Economic Transformation (RET) group’s chances.
The RET group has yet to announce its presidential candidate.
Other regions due for conferences are Mzala Nxumalo, composed of Vryheid, Ulundi, Nongoma, and Pongola; Inkosi Bhambatha, which includes Greytown, Msinga, Dundee and Nquthu; Harry Gwala, which incorporates Kokstad, Mzimkhulu, Ixopo and Bulwer towns, as well as Lower South Coast, which covers Port Shepstone, Harding, uMzumbe (Hibberdene), and Umzinto.
All conferences were supposed to sit last year but could not due to, among others, Covid-19 regulations.
Branches were also expected to announce their provincial and national preferences since the province was already preparing for its elective conference ahead of the national conference.
Daily News